Book Two: Home
by Hilzey
Summary: After a few places of searching, Nego and Hazel have had more than enough dangerous encounters. Time to set down the sails and put down the oars, maybe, it's time for rest.
1. Chapter 1

Nego leaped off Tagu's back and jumped on the boat. The minute he put on the talisman, his mind was calm. Despite the dire situation, the talisman helped his body relax but his senses keep alert. The talisman had helped him on the discussion which they both agreed it was better to _prevent_ Dious from getting the talismans instead of _getting_ the talismans like the four fallen. It made much more sense. They didn't need to get any talisman for its power.

Hazel shimmied across the rope. Jun opened his wings at the last second, slowly letting his feet touch the wood. 'Ecaep ni tser,' she said quietly. Nego knew by that, she meant the Shadows. She obviously hadn't forgotten that. 'Rest in peace pronounced backwards?' 'Yes.'

'The rain will cover up any noise we make, their supplies are essential,' Nego told her. Hazel smiled, the one that meant she knew what to do. Jun walked slowly across the deck, the sound of Tagu's hooves clacking were barely audible with the sound of the raindrops hitting the deck. Thunder flashed.

Hazel had found other things in the room they had went in. She had found Zhongnese blast powder much to her happiness and lots of destructive things which she put into the pockets which she buttoned up carefully.

Her javelin had shrunk into a baton, an impressive arsenal of throwing knives hung from her belt with different patterns on them. Two swords which were meant for raids meaning they weren't very long, and very light in her Scabbard made her look like an assassin.

Nego followed Jun into the storeroom. With the ship setting down their anchors, everything had stopped rattling. Still, soldiers could be in the food storage. Nego opened the door, to find two soldiers guarding it.

Jun knocked one unconscious with his wide wingspan. Nego bonked the other on the head with Yarrow. Hazel walked across the maze of crates. This was different from alleyways. She used her knife to cut the ropes fastening the wooden boxes to their place and slice open the lid of a certain crate on the built in racks.

All sorts of travel food were there. Dried seaweed, jerky, dehydrated fruits, biscuits … It was an armies feast. Stuffing his pockets with rations, Tagu chewed on the seaweed he was offered.

Silently bonking more soldiers, Hazel found empty flasks and kegs of water. With one flask of water each, Hazel sprinkled blast powder in the middle of the room and clenched some herbs together.

Transparent liquid dripped down from her fist. 'I fused together a couple of simple things to make the food near it rot. We have to get out of the room.' Jun helped them by scouting from above. Closing the door behind them, Jun unfurled his wings and took off.

Nego and Hazel clambered on Tagu's back before leaping into the sea. The buffalo submerged himself in water, but Nego found out he wasn't soaked. He felt his shirt. It felt dry, which meant his supplies were dry. Leaping out of the water, he felt like he was riding through the skies.

Jun flapped his wings and soared through the clouds. Nego rubbed the talisman around his neck. Staying calm was essential on a battlefield. There were no second chances, you had to keep calm.

It was a long time, but Nego spotted land. Tall trees, dark earth, the sound of water … Tagu made a beeline for the source of water. Hazel sat down on a rock and chewed on some dried fruit before taking out her flask.

'We never got to talk much, even while being in the same place. You might as well tell me the parts we both didn't see.'

Nego decided to go first. 'I'm from Amaya and I never knew my parents. I spent the winters foraging for nuts and berries from the forest. I've been captured before after I summoned Tagu, who made a very good comforter.' Tagu huffed and rumbled with affection.

Hazel took her knife and sharpened it on the rock she was sitting on. 'I was twelve when Jun came to me. We lived in a small village where the Greencloaks were. We used up the supply of nectar when my sister took it. After Dious came, the heartbreak was enough to nearly kill me. Matrika, the star helped me. The first year was horrible. Slowly, I found the rebels. I followed my path and found the forest,' her voice was tight with emotion.

Tagu pulled at her trouser leg. Jun ruffled his feathers and leaned against her. Hazel stood up and looked at the forest. 'How do you feel about trekking?'

Nego continued walking as Jun flew ahead, just below the tree line. Hazel slashed and hacked at the branches like it was nobody's business. She reminded Nego of an insane branch chopper. 'Remote forests are bases for most societies. The forest of the Shadows is made to remember itself. Bits and pieces will have survived. Clothing, broken weapons, tree stumps, ancient rock … The drawings in the mountain will have survived. The rock with names on it.'

She made her knife twist in such a way the branch in front of her fell to the ground into tiny pieces. 'Dreams assured me that their up there, and they don't blame me. They said they don't regret the path they chose to take.' Tagu chewed on the leaves that fell to the ground.

'They say war hardens people,' Hazel continued. 'And now I truly believe that.' Jun gave a high pitched squawk. Nego listened to the trees and the earth. The information came in a rush. His fingertips were tingling and his ears ringed.

'There's a wall two-hundred meters away. Its twenty-six feet high made out of wood and stone. It's too long to go around and I suspect that it's a test,' Nego said in a rush. 'How did you know that?' Hazel asked. 'I just listened to nature,' he answered.

Tagu nodded in approval. 'How do we get up it?' Nego asked. 'That,' Hazel said with a hint of light in her eyes. '-Is something we'll think of when we get there.' Then, she ran off. Nego found it a bit scary how well she hid the pain and heartbreak when she was leader of the Shadows, being strong with murderous eyes.

It turned out, she was a destructive bomber with a wide knowledge of plants and herbs who loved nearly-impossible challenges. Strangely enough, he preferred the destructive bomber Hazel. With Tagu behind him, Nego ran off to see the wall.

The plants weren't lying. The wall was smooth with no ivy, footholds, handholds, cracks or ledges. Jun landed next to them. 'You need to put Tagu in doormat state,' Hazel said. Tagu looked at the wall that was impossibly long and terribly high and disappeared in a soft radiance.

Hazel took two knives from her belt, one in each hand before giving him two meat cleavers. 'Okay, I think I can work with this. 'The meat cleavers were heavy, but they would do. 'Jun will help us, come on.' With that, she jumped as high as she could, stuck a knife into the wall and propelled herself up using it as leverage and stuck the one in her other hand in.

Nego took a deep breath before muttering to himself, 'I am insane for following her,' before doing exactly what she was doing, except with meat cleavers. Hazel was still climbing and Nego nearly slipped, but Jun caught him. 'Thanks,' he said to the egret.

Jun squawked in return. Nego thought it would be strange to see a boy who was wearing khaki pants with a light grey shirt holding meat cleavers and a girl with camo pants and a navy blue shirt with throwing knives scaling a wall with an egret flying about in the background.

Panting heavily, he dug a meat cleaver into the wall. The outer-part was wood coated with silver wood sap to prevent it from rotting. The _inside_ was stone. Pushing himself to go on, Hazel helped him to get up.

Climbing the fence on the wall, Nego looked what was behind the wall. There was a large stone building in the middle, there was an obstacle course that he could make out and an arena. There was a well for water near the building with pipes attached to each other.

Hazel put the meat cleavers back into her belt and looked at what he was seeing. She leaned over the fence and sighed. Just then, a tiger followed by an ocelot came on either side with lightly armored soldiers.

Snarling and crouched down, Nego hurriedly released Tagu. Jun trilled and opened his wings. 'Girl, call off your spirit animal. It's a clumsy egret against a tiger, though I think the buffalo stands a chance against Gunderson's ocelot,' said a female voice. 'Anything can happen, Ethel.' The other soldier was a male.

The talisman worked its magic. Hazel took her javelin and thwacked the tiger on the head with the shaft. The soldier gave a cry and pulled out a sword. Nego felt strange calm as he whacked the ocelot on the head. Tagu ducked and used his horns to carry the soldier in the air.

Jun was flapping his wings around the fence, distracting the female soldier. The soldier in Tagu's horns screamed as Nego pulled out Yarrow. Hazel pointed the tip of her javelin at the female soldier's throat. 'Hi, Ethel. I suppose you don't want to die, I understand. Still, we mean no harm. I'm Hazel and this is Jun, the egret. That's Nego and the buffalo with your friend is Tagu. We scaled your wall with knives and meat cleavers which was a relief from being prisoners on a ship. Captured by people and all the trifecta. The thing is, who are you?'

'We are the Tailtan's. I would be glad to explain if you release Gunderson and not kill me.'

 **If you don't understand, Nego and Hazel have decided to prevent Dious from getting the talismans. This is not like the four fallen on a talisman hunt, respectively. I need you guys to help me, if not I will take this matter into my own hands. You guys have Saturday the eighteenth. Tight deadline, sorry but I know you guys can do it, right?**

 **Number One : The leader of the Tailtan's is horrible. (Please vote on the name of the leader)**

 **Number Two : The mentors are horrible. (If you vote on this one, I want ONE name. It has to be a male name because I have an issue with names.)**

 **Number Three: Both of them are horrible.**

 **The person whose suggested name is picked can have a cookie! I need an old timey name that makes the person sound like a creep but not too much. All the guest rightfully have the right to enter. The people whose names aren't picked will be used for equally horrible people. I hope we get entries!**

 **Peace!**


	2. Chapter 2

**The winner of the Leader and Mentor naming is a Guest! The names sound so much like they belong to some bad person are great! Thanks for the PM! Please review if you want to see more of this!**

Tagu dropped Gunderson on the ground. Ethel dusted herself off. She had long brown hair that was tied in a loose ponytail. Her green eyes were impressed but she kept that under control. Gunderson had a beard with sky blue eyes.

The tiger shook his head and Ethel patted its head sympathetically. Gunderson cradled his ocelot in his arms. 'There, there Kun,' Ethel said soothingly. 'You hit Meno very hard on the head,' grumbled Gunderson. Nego followed them at a respectful distance.

'We're the Tailtan's and we're the survivors of the most recent attack. In remote places like these, attacks happen a lot.' Kun, the tiger padded ahead. 'We take in the marked and we train in order to stop bandits from raiding our village. If not, we fend off enemy soldiers.'

Tagu huffed and swished his tail. 'We've never had kids like you scaling the wall with knives before,' Ethel said. 'And meat cleavers,' Nego added. 'And meat cleavers,' Ethel agreed.

'We defeated twenty-two armies of Conquerors when the bile was around. We are only one of the many small societies around Erdas who prepare for these things. We have a little over one-hundred soldiers in the building.'

Nego gulped a little. Hazel took a pinch of blast powder and pinecone fragments from her many pockets on her trouser legs before clenching it together. Sparks flew in her fist. When she opened it, a wisp of smoke came out of her palm.

The girl was proving to have a wide knowledge of bombing with certain party tricks. Jun walked on carefully, like the spot he would set his foot down would crumble underneath him. They walked down the steps carved in the wall.

The building was huge. The middle was a straight corridor with other corridors attached to it leading to different rooms. Tagu sniffed the air and suddenly Nego could hear what was happening in each individual room.

The sound of wood clashing with people panting. The growl of a dog and the cry of a bird. Gunderson lumbered ahead. There was a steel door which Nego found suspicious. Ethel knocked. 'Come on in,' replied a gruff voice.

The room was almost too big. A vaulted ceiling above them was probably meant for flying spirit animals. There was a bat hanging in the corner of the room with a steely gaze.

The Leader was a tall, skinny man. His eyes narrowed at them. 'Gunderson, explain,' he said. 'We found them after they scaled the wall. They hardly look twelve if you ask me. They hit Kun and poor Meno on the head.'

'Well, you,' he pointed at Nego. 'What's are your names, and which one is your spirit animal?' Nego gulped. 'I'm Nego, and the white buffalo is Tagu. She's Hazel and the egret is Jun,' he squeaked out. The bat fluttered down.

The boss wrinkled his forehead. 'How do I know you're not from the neighboring parts of Tailtan?' he asked 'If we were enemies, we would not have scaled the wall and we would have killed your two soldiers and I would've bombed this place with blast powder and pinecones. We have no reason to lie,' Hazel answered.

The boss had a bewildered look on his face. 'Kay!' he yelled. Another person came out from the back. A thin, wiry man with black hair standing up on his head looked at them. 'I heard everything from the back while I was arranging the scrolls, Muane. Their being honest, and I would be glad to be their mentor,' he said thinly.

Jun raised one foot defensively, Hazel scowled and Tagu looked at Kay disdainfully. Nego felt the shaft of Yarrow. Muane however seemed to be considering the thought. 'We've never had such young people manage to get across the wall, certainly not children like you two even with spirit animals. Private lessons might be the best option.'

'Ethel, Gunderson. You two are dismissed,' he waved his hand. 'Well, do you two want to join us? We could use extra hands. We have extra rooms.' Jun still had his foot raised. Tagu tapped his hoof on the ground. Jun slowly looked around, as if considering the thought.

Tagu huffed in a don't-care way. Nego realized that it was up to them to make the decision. He leaned in towards Hazel. 'You think this is good?' he asked. Hazel had her hand on the handle of her swords. 'I'm done with being the leader. I'm exhausted of the responsibility.'

Nego took a deep breath. 'We will join,' he said. Kay seemed satisfied. 'But,' Hazel warned. 'If I find something out,' she leaned in closer towards the boss. 'My egret will kick.'

* * *

'Come on, harder!' A sword and arrow didn't seem fair. Yarrow twirled in the air. The only reason why he wasn't freaking out was because the moonstone buffalo was around his neck. The sword clashed against Yarrow.

Tagu quietly watched, but he was heightening his reflexes. Dodging and turning, Nego stayed calm. Kay was a good swordsman, no doubt about that. Finally, exhaustion took over. His knees buckled and he had a sword point at his throat.

'Your endurance level is disappointing,' Kay said coldly. 'When you mean that, I suppose half-hour of fighting is not enough?' he shot back. Tagu nosed his shoulder and rumbled. Nego pulled himself up.

'And you think your endurance level is good enough?' Kay said menacingly. A rhinoceros lumbered out of a dark corner. Tagu bristled. In the wild, buffalos and rhinoceros's had skirmishes. 'Maybe, maybe I do,' Nego admitted.

With that, he stormed out of the room. Hazel was sitting on the benches. Bandages were wrapped around her hands. 'Hey, what happened?' Jun was standing on one foot. 'Muane made me go on the rope jungle. It's a structure with ropes all over the place and I ended up getting friction burns because he wanted me to go faster,' she said it in a dangerously low voice.

'Hey, Nego! You're punished to fight Rex!' Hazel raised a questioning eye brown. 'Rex is his rhinoceros,' Nego sighed. 'Well, friction burns don't matter. I'm fighting with you,' she said. 'I hate this. Have you ever fought a rhinoceros?' he asked. 'No, but we can do this,' Hazel answered. 'Let's go defeat a rhino!'

 **Hey guys! I'm afraid I won't be updating as frequently because I have my UPSR this year and our school is going to get busy** ** _real_** **soon. I hope we can do this soon. Also, I'm shouting out to fight4whales because she has a really cool story called 'Spirit Animals, Nyal's tale'. She inspired me to write and really, I like those sort of stories with actual spirit animals and Erdas. Of course, no offence to the other great authors on fanfiction.**

 **Fingers crossed that she updates really soon.**

 **Peace!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I edited this a little to make it more accurate and all. Minor grammar corrections and usage of verbs.**

Rex the Rhino grunted. 'If you tire, Rex wins. If Rex succumbs to exhaustion, you both win. It's to teach you about endurance,' Kay said smugly. 'No maiming, use the wooden weapons. You may use anything you want from the steel box over there.'

Hazel sighed and arranged her weapons on the rack. Nego put Yarrow at the very end of the rack. Jun circled the arena while Tagu gave weary looks at Rex.

Nego found a long, rounded piece of wood. Hazel found a wooden sword meant for mock fighting. 'My sword would break if I hit the Rhino's thick head. Jun's talons will not be able to leave so much as a scratch on Rex's hide.'

Much to Hazel's luck, the steel box had herbs and all sorts of things. 'More blast powder and bomb herbs,' she said, stuffing her pockets with herbs and buttoning it so it wouldn't spill out.

Kay tapped his foot impatiently as they both entered the ring. 'Ready, steady, go!' Jun raked his talons harmlessly across Rex's back. Hazel took herbs, blast powder and other stuff, threw it around the arena and yelled to him, 'Get away!'

Nego scrambled out of the way. The ground where the stuff had hit it smoked and made a grey cloud. 'Squeeze the liquid in your eye,' Hazel said, pressing some herbs into his open palm. Then, she ran off. Nego did as he was told and did the same to Tagu. His eyes didn't feel different but when the smoke came, he could _see._

'Junagi, come!' Hazel yelled. The egret soared towards her blindly. Hazel squeezed the herbs and let the liquid run into his eyes. Junagi soared off. 'Jun is short for Junagi?' Nego asked, running next to her. 'Well, Junagi is his rightful name, it feels good to call him that. Should I stick to it?' Nego thought about it.

'You should,' he answered. 'It feels more respectful.' Hazel snorted. 'And I supposed you're going to start calling me 'Mistress'.' Tagu rumbled, like he was laughing. 'If the world ends, I will.' Junagi soared in the air.

Rex charged at them, and Hazel took her wooden sword and hit the rhino as hard as she could. In a flurry of attacks and maneuvers that Nego had never seen, the rhino stumbled a little. Nego threw his stick at its thick hide. Rex looked at him, and charged.

'It's about endurance,' Nego muttered to himself. Rex advanced on him and Junagi managed to pull its ear just before something bad happened. Playing a dangerous game of piggy-in-the-middle, Rex was getting more disorientated the more time went on.

Just when Nego had sweat dripping all over himself and Hazel looking like she had a shower, Kay put Rex back in passive state. 'You,' he pointed at Nego. 'Smart move in playing tag in the arena, you're smarter than I thought. Girl, you know Northern battle tactics, who thought you?'

Junagi flew behind Kay and cuffed him behind the head. 'It's none of your business,' Hazel retorted. Kay looking like he would murder Hazel controlled himself when Junagi opened his wings. Nego knew the egret was someone nobody wanted mad at them. Tagu rumbled warningly.

Towering over Kay with his long legs and long neck, his wingspan was seven-and-a-half meters long. When he got angry, the grey feathers edging his wings and grey plume gave the lasting impression they were grey knives. Beak parted, his brown eyes flashed angrily.

Even Kay tilted his head upwards to look at him. 'Fine, you both are free for the rest of the day.' Junagi folded his wings and craned his neck downwards to look at them both. Reclaiming their weapons from the rack, Tagu pointed his head towards the door as Hazel finished putting her last knife in her belt.

They both had showers and agreed to take border patrol. The view from the walls was dazzling. Tagu looked at the forest. Junagi circled the area and made Hazel's vision sharpen, she closed her eyes, seeing whatever Junagi was seeing.

Hazel opened her eyes, and Nego could tell she had seen something. 'There's a dark shape, Nego. It's coming straight for us. We can't alert the others because they said they would be hunting.' After a while, Junagi landed on the fence. Nego got ready to fight whatever this was.

As the shape got closer, Nego saw it was a huge black hawk. 'What in Tellun's antlers is that?' Nego asked himself. It was carrying a boy in one claw. With a wingspan easily over ten feet, Tagu looked calmly across the massive, black shadow.

Its body was as big as a rhino, its talons were sharp and Nego understood what people meant when they said someone had _piercing_ green eyes. Its green gaze burned with fury. 'Is that a Great Beast?' Nego asked Tagu.

Tagu shook his head. The voice in his head came back. _Not a Great Beast or a Watcher, seeker. Some spirit animals are different._ Hazel looked at him expectantly. 'I don't know what to do,' Nego said. Hazel smiled, a mad glint shone in her eyes. Not mad in the bad way, it was going to be crazy but okay.

The hawks black feathers gleamed in the sunlight. Its grey beak looked very sharp. As it got closer, they could make out a mop of black hair that was groomed carefully on the boy in its claw. He looked like a rich snob who enjoyed power. 'Never judge a book by its cover,' Nego quoted.

'Well, I'll keep that in mind,' Hazel said as she climbed on the fence and Junagi circling them. As the hawk flew above them, Hazel jumped. 'What?!' Nego yelled. Tagu charged down the steps as Nego ran down it. Junagi was following, a distinct blur in the sky.

Hazel yelled something as she hung on the massive talon of the huge raptor. Nego climbed on a tree and jumped on the grey building. He still had a rusted knife in his belt. Holding it in one hand, Nego aimed for its leg.

The knife flew in a wide arc and shattered as it hit the hawk's claw. The one that carried Hazel. She yelled something as the hawk dropped her out of the air. Junagi slowed her fall by catching the scruff of her shirt and flapping his wings. She landed on the ground, a line of scratches across her arm and a graze on her neck.

Nego leaped onto the ground next to her side. 'Ouch,' she complained. 'What plan was that?' Nego asked furiously. 'Who throws a rusted knife at a giant raptor?' she answered back. The hawk dropped the boy on the ground as it landed.

'Hey, why did you two attack Veltu?' the boy complained. Junagi landed on the tree as the hawk pinned both of them on the ground with his claws. Tagu hid in the bushes. 'Oh, I'm Liuto of Southern Eura. And what are your names?' He had a broadsword with him, and he was pointing it at their throats.

Nego did not like getting pinned down by a gigantic, black hawk. 'Nego and Hazel, egret Junagi and Tagu buffalo in bushes,' he choked out. Liuto filed his fingernails casually on his broadsword. 'I'm Liuto, legend of Eura and summoner of Veltu, the bird of legend' he announced.

Nego remembered the verse from the prophecy that just about everyone knew. It was so mind numbingly boring to hear it all the time. There was a bird of prophecy, which people said would someday change Erdas.

Hazel had gone very still. Junagi suddenly disappeared in a flash of light, and Nego realized the mark was on the nape on her neck. Still, the tattoo showed at the right side of her neck until it reached her collarbone because of Junagi's grey-tipped tail.

'There is no such legend,' she said softly. Liuto's eyes narrowed. 'You're from the North,' he said, a grudge in his tone. 'Wait, I saw you in Amaya in my dream. How can you be from the North?' Hazel shrugged. 'I admit I blocked the true vision. You can get angry if you want.'

'You can make and stop visions from coming?' Hazel rolled her eyes. 'It's not anything special,' she said. 'Lyria is my sister in arms. My family had to go into war so they sent me to Amaya where the Conquerer's wouldn't attack too fast, except something happened. I met her during the Second War. It's a long story. I showed you a vision of a younger her based on a colored pencil drawing and me. What did you think we were, fraternal twins?'

'Uh, yes?' Hazel sighed. 'That's not the first time someone has said that.' 'Quiet!' Liuto yelled. Tagu bellowed. Veltu glared at both of them. Nego just realized that her voice did have a Northern accent. 'After this giant chicken gets off us, you owe me a real vision.'

Hazel stayed silent for a while until she said, 'Okay, I will give you one after this.' Veltu dug his claws deeper into the earth until his talons were pressing against their throats. 'Veltu is a legend, let me see your spirit animals!' he demanded. 'You just did!' Hazel protested.

Tagu bellowed and came out from the bushes. Veltu looked at the small, white, stocky buffalo with blunt horns on the side of his head. Brown eyes flashing, tranquility wove around him. 'Where is yours?' he demanded, pointing his broadsword at Hazel.

Her eyes were concentrated, sweat was already running down her neck. Suddenly, in a light so dazzling, Junagi appeared. Wings spread open, he screeched a cry so piercing Nego thought his ear drums had withered up and begged to die.

Veltu released his grip and looked at them. 'Hey!' yelled a voice Nego recognized all too well. Kay looked at them with his arms crossed. Kay made his way across the ground, looked at the black hawk and said firmly. 'Put your hawk in passive state, Muane would want to see this.'

'You two, go back to your rooms,' he said to both of them. Tagu chewed on some grass as Nego and Hazel sat on the bough of a tree. Taking deep breaths and nodding to Junagi, Nego saw a curtain of darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

**My dream came true! 'Spirit animals, Nyal's tale' was updated and the chapter with it was awesome! I told you, my UPSR is this year (A major exam where if you fail the Bahasa Malaysia subject, you go for remove). So, these updates might only come on Wednesday, Saturday or Sunday. Enjoy this chapter!**

Color spread across Nego's view. It was the harsh lands of the North. It probably explained her northern camo pants. 'We'll be back soon, Hazel. Junagi will protect you,' it was the voice of understanding and sadness. 'There's a remote village in Amaya. I'm sorry the nectar didn't arrive in time.'

Another vision came in his sight. Hazel was in the canopy, and she was climbing like a demon. She jumped from the trees and swung from the branches. Junagi looked at the forest ahead and cried. Trunswick.

Junagi landed on the branches. Slowly, she stealthily climbed on top of the wall when something seized her. A large lizard with orange and black patches with claws of a nightmare. Junagi got knocked down by a chestnut bird.

Hazel shrieked when the lizard managed to catch her trouser leg. She fell on the ground, sending dust flying. 'Another Greencloak-scum, Ana?' asked a voice. A dark, Niloan boy came from the shadows. 'No, but she isn't from here,' replied a female voice.

'Who are you, stranger?' asked the Niloan boy. 'I come from the North,' Hazel said, her voice full of fear. The lizard hissed as its claws dug deeper into her ankle. 'She's Northern, Karmo. You can tell from her voice,' Ana insisted.

Junagi flapped his wings alarmingly underneath the other bird's foot. 'The bird might do for that person who bothers us,' Ana suggested. 'Was Dious his name?' Karmo considered it. 'Well, take the bird to the port. We need the earl's permission for her to be taken to the Howling House.'

Hazel struggled against the ropes and looked as Junagi was dragged away. 'Selling someone's spirit animal for money! What sort of person are you?!' she spat. 'Someone who will decide whether you die or live in misery,' Karmo leered.

The lizard hissed again. Hazel growled, the sound echoing across the street. This time, Devin Trunswick, the boy which Nego knew all too well from the stories came out with a black shape prowling next to him. 'Karmo, Ana. What is going on down there?' he called.

'We caught a Northern girl. We're selling her spirit animal to the annoying guy called Dious,' Karmo called back. Devin frowned, but he said, 'I never would've thought of that. He was annoying anyway.' Then he turned his attention towards Hazel.

'My father is with Zerif himself. You can take her to the Howling House, I as the Earl's son give you permission to.' Karmo seemed rather annoyed with the words _Earl's son._ This time, a blond girl came out with a strange frog in her hands.

'What's going on? You're all going to wake up the whole streets!' she yelled. 'Thalia,' said Ana who had been silent this whole time. 'We found a Northern girl who has a spirit animal which we are going to sell to Dious.' The way she put it so placidly seemed to calm Thalia down.

The lizard still had her trouser leg in his claws. 'Throw her in a stall than, we keep all those strangers and Greencloak-scum with their supporters in one place,' she scoffed. With that Hazel suddenly pushed away the reptile with a javelin.

Devin's wildcat growled and jumped at her. Instead, Hazel climbed on one of the boxes and the wildcat jumped on nothing. She pulled herself up on one of the roofs and ran lightly across the buildings. An arrow flew in the air burying itself into her shoulder. She cried out and the back of her head hit the ground with a sickening crack.

It must've been a few days after the first vision, because when the vision turned black and after he could see, Hazel was there. She looked terrible. Her hands were shaking and her eyes were closed. She looked halfway to being insane.

There were bandages wound around her arm. She was sitting down in the corner with her shaking fingers tapping the ground. Someone unlocked the cell door and padded in. Hazel tilted her head towards the figure between the curtains of her dark hair.

Hazel punched the guard so hard that she broke his nose. She held up a warning hand towards the mastiffs. The Norths were famous for their dogs. 'Not giving dogs a name should be a crime,' she said softly. 'Heel and thread lightly,' she commanded, taking the keys from the unconscious guard.

'Sixty-three keys, wow.' With the mastiffs wagging their tails and following her. The dogs ran at her, but she somehow made them obey her. Soon, she had twenty mastiffs guarding her as she unlocked the cell doors.

Most of them were Greencloak supporters, but she found a few Greencloaks. 'Go, forget you ever saw me.' The dogs went back to their guards in the endless stretches of the Howling House. 'I know you're tired, I know you probably won't trust a girl from the middle of nowhere much younger than you but the Devourer is doing this. I've called ourselves the Shadows, but it's your choice to join.'

'Well, you're going to need help. I will die standing up for what I believe,' said one man. Most stayed, others left but Hazel sneaked past the gates of Trunswick with a good amount of people. Leading raids and leaving Saem in charge, Matrika came to her.

Nego saw how she fought like a demon in the war, a distinct person in the battlefield and how she thought the Shadows how to sabotage the ships and weapons which greatly weakened the already dangerous army of Conquerors. In the middle of the war, Hazel met Lyria. A girl who looked at bit like her and thought like her before becoming her sister in arms.

When Hazel got wounded severely, Lyria spent ages looking for help. Lyria went to her old village and her parents looked after Hazel. At the last stand however, when the Evertree fell, they had both gotten separated. However, Hazel had seen Lyria and her family having their village attacked in a vision by Dious's army.

After that, she had confronted Dious on returning Junagi, which lead to a fierce battle. Dodging and turning on the rough terrain, it was where she had truly gotten the horrible scar.

It was eighteen months before Nego arrived to their camp. Nego woke up and nearly fell off the branch. What probably the best thing to say wasn't, 'Do you know what happened to your biological parents?' Junagi gave him a warning look.

'I don't know whether they lived or died,' her voice was hard but sad. Tagu sighed and chewed on the fallen leaves. Nego felt the talisman around his neck. 'Well, that's the truth,' Hazel said sadly. 'My sister in arms somewhere with her family who looked after me somewhere I don't know and not knowing if my biological parents lived or died.'

Nego's heart went cold. 'Okay, this one was worse than the last,' Nego admitted. The last one had ben sad, but this one somehow seemed sadder. The howling house, her spirit animal taken in just a few sentences of talking like she didn't exist and earning a scar to last a lifetime. 'When black sparrow was pinning us down, was that the first time you put Junagi in passive state?'

Slowly, Hazel nodded. 'I didn't think I could make him come out. It was like something was just in front of my fingertips but I couldn't reach it. Panic was the reason he came out, but I can't do it if someone asked me to.'

A thought struck Nego, 'We destroyed Dious's supplies. Did we stop him?' Hazel tilted her head to the sky before answering, 'In my dream, I saw an army of ants thriving. But then, winter came suddenly and they couldn't find food. Their colony crumbled and soon they all died, including the queen. That dream was very accurate,' she said.

'I would feel angry if I was Dious, to be honest. Because of two children with blast powder and herbs, they rot the food supply and the men starve and die. It's foolish to put all the supplies in one ship. We're free of responsibility now. No more enemies, just a straight path of protecting threats from rising.'

Tagu grunted with pleasure as he chewed on the flowers that had fallen on the ground. 'Well, there goes Liuto and his high and mighty giant chicken,' Hazel noted while looking at a giant shape flying at them.

Veltu opened his wings and slowed his landing. Liuto grinned at them annoyingly. 'What do you want?' Hazel growled. Veltu held up one mighty talon but Junagi walked on the branch and sat next to her, foot raised and beak parted.

'Oh, Kay gave me this club, really cool isn't it?' He produced a wooden club with a sheet of iron covering it and metal spikes jutting out. Tagu looked at Veltu. The bird was as big as a Watcher or a Great Beast. A broadsword and club was dangerous.

Liuto smiled, Hazel scowled, Junagi gave Veltu an evil look, Tagu rumbled in protest and Nego looked at the boy dangerously. Kay, who kept on looking at Veltu and smiling seemed to be very happy to have a legend in his barracks gestured for them to come.

Every instinct in Nego screamed at him to punch his mentor in the face, but he walked towards him with Tagu stumbling across the ground and Hazel walking with Junagi cursing words in the Northern language under her breath that would've made his ears bleed.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm studying for the UPSR, major exam like I wrote a few chapters ago. Studying's important.**

Being punished to polish weapons didn't seem so bad, until Nego found out the storage room was a big steel building as big as the grey building with shelves around eighteen feet tall with a few hundred weapons on each shelf.

Even cleaning the weapons on one shelf would take forever. Tagu grunted, muscles tensing under his coat. Hazel and Junagi found the shelf with the least weapons on it.

Nego fingered at the oily cloth and squinted at the rack. 'Well, let's get polishing.' Junagi took the weapons from the places they couldn't reach and put them back. Tagu used his horns to carry armloads of weapons.

They sat there for hours on end, polishing weapons and saddles. Hazel would sometimes drop the weapon she was cleaning and paced the wall. Then, she would come back and go back to polishing.

Some weapons were so old, Nego threw them at the pile of in-usable weapons. Hazel muttered in Northern to herself.

Finally, when Tagu dumped the last load of weapons back onto the shelf, Hazel threw the cloth and wiped the smudge of soot off her face.

'Come on, I found something you would like to see.' Junagi was already at the wall, examining the parchments with large eyes. His grey plume was standing up straight, the sign that meant it was something bad.

It was a wall with parchments of plans stuck to it. Some were very old, others were fairly new. There were words and a few symbols with drawings written and drawn with ink.

Tagu looked across the wall, tail twitching. Symbols turning into letters like the book he had left at Greenhaven. But there were normal words at the bottom with important markings.

An old dusty piece that Junagi was studying made Nego's heart race as he read it.

 _Train Liuto and Veltu to become an unstoppable army._

 _Sell two second-newest recruits to Klau's slavery._

 _Lead Tailtans to attack the small villages of Nilo first. Kill those who object._

 _Attack the other Niloan villages._

 _Move on to Amaya and then go to Eura._

 _Steal all Euran supplies and replenish resources._

 _Prepare very carefully and unleash a full fury assault on Zhong with Veltu and Liuto._

'We need to tell them what's going on. And of course, you're going to do the talking and I'll get their attention,' Hazel had read it next to him.

'I'm terrible at public speaking, I lived on the streets,' Nego grumbled. 'Well, if you don't want to what else do you have?' Before Nego could answer, the doors opened. Hazel gulped and looked at him.

'Find them!' said a horrible voice.

Nego pointed to her pockets on her green, patched up, camo pants. Hazel grabbed things that looked random out of her pockets so fast that her hands seemed to fly.

'Pinecones!' she whispered as loudly as she dared. 'Where are you, children?' Nego felt around the breast pocket of his grey shirt and the pockets around his khaki pants.

Finally, he found a dozen small pinecones that were still covered in blast powder. Hazel dripped a type of clear, transparent liquid over the pinecones and left a short trail of gunpowder.

She took a match and whispered to Nego, 'Tagu can ram through metal walls, right?' 'I don't know,' he admitted. Junagi flapped his wings urgently.

Tagu pawed silently at the floor. Nego got on and Hazel lit the gunpowder. Getting behind Nego, Junagi perched on her shoulder and Tagu accelerated.

With a loud sound like a gong, Tagu charged out of the wall and galloped for the docks. Junagi spread his wings to let the wind catch him. 'We destroyed every weapon they had and apart from us, the soldiers don't keep spare ones with them,' Hazel said.

The bumpy gallop of Tagu and the jolt of his hooves hitting the ground made it hard to think, but Nego asked, 'What about forging new weapons?'

'Tailtan camp doesn't have any forges. It'll be a few decades for them to stock up on other cool stuff, they have to give away their location to order.'

Nego let that sink in. Junagi squawked in alarm as a large shape followed them. 'Giant black chicken!' Hazel yelled.


	6. Chapter 6

A large shadow, a monster that shouldn't exist as big as a great beast dived towards them. As Veltu made contact with Nego, a pure shock went down his spine and chilled his bones.

Hazel fell off with Junagi squawking in alarm. Tagu's knees buckled, and Nego fell to the ground. The breath had been knocked out of him.

A handsome face appeared. Liuto, Nego thought. Veltu pinned him to the ground using his large claw. 'Hello, buffalo boy,' he said coolly. Nego growled as Tagu staggered to his feet before dropping again.

Veltu raised one claw and aimed it on his throat. Liuto leaned on his sword and looked at Tagu. 'Put your buffalo in passive state, it would be a shame for your friend to die like this.'

A few feet away, several guards had a knife to Hazel's throat. Taking a deep breath, Nego turned his neck to look at Tagu and concentrated.

He thought of all the things they had been through, everything they had done and what would happen to him if he didn't manage to put his spirit animal in passive state.

In a flash of light, Tagu disappeared to become a mark on his neck. Finally, the tiny box of emotions he had kept over the years opened.

Nego was tired of always being captured. He had been held captive so many times.

He had been a slave when he was an explorer, than become easy money for Otakia, than captured by Dious for several days and he was going to be sold to Klau's slavery after all of this.

Liuto had one of his only friends captured, the one who he didn't yet fully understand but had a small part for him in her heart.

He was the silver warrior, summoner of Tagu and for reasons unknown, the Champion of Iika. The chilliness of Veltu's claws threatened to overwhelm him, but Nego set his mind in one place.

Like a cord breaking, he felt something fill him. Not strength, not courage but faith. Hazel looked at him, her gaze intense. Then, Nego realized it was _her_.

She was giving him faith, something that everybody lacked more or less. In a roar that echoed across the mountains, Nego released Tagu on top of Veltu.

Hazel broke free of her captors grip and released Junagi. No matter how big Veltu was, nobody could expect a hundred over pounds of meat landing on them.

Trapping several soldiers under his great wingspan, Tagu jumped off and joined in the fight. Nego locked Yarrow with an enemy soldiers swords.

Several arrows flew in the air, but it wasn't aimed at them. The arrows buried themselves in Veltu's wings. It didn't injure, but it was annoying.

Ethel and Kun, the tiger appeared out of the bushes with Gunderson and Meno, the ocelot. Ethel nocked several arrows out of her quiver and shot.

Gunderson had double-headed axes, and he fought like a demon. His neat beard had several sparks in it, but they died down and appeared again. His blue eyes twinkled and he fought by Nego's side.

'You exploded the warehouse! Ethel was right when she said we should store extra weapons near the river for the both of us!' Nego felt tiny next to Gunderson.

Tagu had ever hurt anyone, his horns had always been blunt and he had always been smaller. Now, Nego's heart swelled with pride. His spirit animal fought next to him, tossing people and goring others.

 _Nobody should enjoy violence, they only do it for what is right_ , Tagu had blood staining the tips of his horns. Hazel and Junagi worked togheter like they were one. Ethel slashed and rained arrows.

Finally, Nego locked Yarrow with someone's sword. Liuto smirked. Gunderson dented helmets and glanced at him before fighting off a vicious soldier. Tagu was busy with Veltu.

This was his duel. He twirled Yarrow and lunged as Liuto parried. 'Poor orphan, did you know who your parents were? How bad was the bonding sickness?'

Nego snarled and fought more viciously. Liuto was good, all that training with Kay had paid off while making him big-headed. Parrying, dodging and ducking became a routine.

Analyzing his battle style, Nego made him stumble and trip. Arms coated in sweat, Nego managed to find an opening. Yarrow caused a bleeding wound which made Liuto cry out in pain.

The cry stopped Nego. _Right heart, wrong path,_ Iika whispered. The wound wasn't serious, but Nego knew it was damaging.

He left him there and joined Gunderson. A silver light glowed around him, the words carved on Yarrow glowed silver too. Veltu kicked up some dust.

Ethel used her dagger to slash at others. It was Hazel that was insane. She twirled and turned, ducking underneath arms and legs swiping her swords in both hands in a flurry of danger.

Her swords glinted a light shade of blue in the night sky. She was glowing, unlike Nego who only had silver light round him. She was beautiful.

Her short, black hair flew around her, her brown eyes were hard. Junagi seemed, bigger. The egret had already been tall, but he had grown as tall as six feet. The sharp talons on his dexterous toes left a nasty scratch on the wing of a magpie.

Nego felt unstoppable, and then Hazel let loose an explosion of power. Light flashed, not silver or blue but gold and brown. The colors rippled around the field.

Hazel let loose a guttural cry. Nego felt everything she had felt: her pain, sadness, resentment … crushing waves of emotion. And yet, Nego knew it wasn't her true potential.

The waves made him stumble and he wanted to somehow absorb that pain. _Don't despair, you have great power. If she can do it, you can._

While the soldiers, Veltu and Liuto were still confused, Nego called on his memories. His ears were ringing, and Hazel didn't even aim her power at him.

His head spun but across the fragments of his memory, he rooted his mind on one. Nego focused on it, the memory was fuzzy but it somehow felt right.

The trace of a smile and someone saying something to him. 'The teller said you have a great destiny.' The silver aura around him glowed, Nego pulled the memory out and closed his eyes.

He could hear the waves and the taste of salty sea air. Corals as colorful as the rainbow and predator and prey. The ocean didn't give him power, it didn't help him or enhance his abilities but it was there.

It gave him chances to prove himself, and Nego focused on that and drew out his power. Moisture seeped out of the ground and formed the shape of a beautiful woman in a flowing dress.

The dust shifted and rocked to form a large creature. 'Lady Kan at your service, what is your word?' the woman asked softly. It sounded like rippling water. Somehow, Nego wasn't surprised to hear her speak.

'Help?' he croaked out. The large creature bounded next to Hazel, it looked like a lioness. Lady Kan screamed and charged into battle. 'Jujube, go attack that large bird!' Hazel yelled and pointed at Veltu.

'She's called Jujube?' Nego choked out. Tagu rumbled and tossed an unlucky person out of the way. Slicked in sweat, time flew so fast that soon, Hazel yelled 'Let's go!' and gestured towards the docks.

The soldiers were knocked out and wounded, Liuto and Veltu were somewhere. Lady Kan shimmered next to him. 'My last gift, but not the last of _me_.'

She raised he hands and a small, decently-sized boat appeared. With one last smile, she disappeared into the ground. Jujube crumbled into dust.

Ethel and Gunderson followed, and as Nego rowed the small boat with Gunderson's help, he wondered if he would ever find some place to stay without having to run away after a few weeks.

 **No followers or favorites yet, so tell me what I need to do to get your interest. Stay awesome, you guys!**


	7. Chapter 7

Nego woke up in an awkward position. He was curled up in a ball with some coiled up rope as a pillow.

Gunderson was rowing the boat with the paddle so vigorously that it seemed the boat was flying. Tagu was at the front, focused and twitching his ears.

Sprays of water flew on either side of the boat. Tagu was urging the boat on, and Nego saw why. Dark shapes were behind them.

He sat up and blinked the sleep out of his eyes. The talisman was still with him and it quivered and shook like it was throwing a tantrum.

 _How do I use a talisman like this? It keeps people calm, but what else?_ The dark shapes were getting closer.

Ethel aimed her bow at the birds. She narrowed her eyes, and fired. In a perfect arc, the arrow hit a bird in the wing.

Nego whatched as the bird plummeted into the ocean. 'Search eagles,' Ethel said bitterly. There were a dozens of them, wings flapping, sharp beak and talons.

Hazel landed out of the sky, next to him. 'About time you woke up,' she said grimly. She had changed out of her blue shirt into a grey one which made her look like a scout.

Her camo pants were streaked with dirt which was strange because they had been rowing for three days out in the ocean, heading towards the southern part of Erdas.

Junagi landed on the bench and pulled at his dark blue shirt with his talons. Nego didn't feel like killing powerful, trained raptors.

They would probably look at him and say, _you see that boy in a pair of khakis and blue shirt? Let's kill him first._

Hazel growled at the eagles, then Junagi spread his wings and flapped them before clumsily taking off into the sky.

She looked at the sky and squinted. She made a fist and concentrated. Gold and brown rays shone out of her fist.

As Junagi squawked and circled the eagles, Hazel opened her fist to reveal a small orb of light and blew.

Nego looked in admiration as the concentrated light flew from her palm and zipped across the sky, making two eagles collapse into the ocean.

'How did you do that?' he asked. She looked at him and smiled. 'I don't know,' The talisman suddenly burst into a fit of shaking, quivering and pulling at the white cord.

Hazel looked at the talisman. 'I think it wants you to use it.' Nego sighed. Very helpful. He directed his gaze at the eagles.

He stared at them so hard, that his eyes hurt. Ocean, salt, salt and birds tail. That old myth that he had overheard.

Immediately, the ocean churned and bubbled. The patch underneath the eagles boiled and before his very eyes, salt burst out of the ocean.

The eagles squawked and plummeted into the ocean. Ethel lowered her bow. 'How did you do that?' Before Nego could reply, Junagi landed on the side of the boat and shrieked.

Hazel raised her arm to stroke the egret. 'I think Junagi has seen something.' Before they could say anything else, an arrow flew in the air.

It was so swift that it was just a blur. Before Nego even noticed, the arrow had disappeared underneath the ocean with a string attached to the shaft and at the end of the string, was a piece of paper.

'Look in front of you,' Hazel read. Ethel tossed the paper in the ocean, the string following.

On an island, right at the shore line were people. And in the very middle, was someone with a mask fashioned to look like a bird.

And the person had an osprey resting on its shoulder.


	8. Chapter 8

Gunderson rowed on shore. The masked figure looked at them, the osprey unfolded its wings and hissed.

Junagi put a cautious foot on the ground. Hazel stepped on shore after her spirit animal. The people around the masked person shifted uneasily.

The osprey spread the feathers at the edges of its wings, wanting to take flight, but the masked person spoke to it.

'Scarlett, not yet.' Nego could tell from her voice that she was female. Gunderson and Ethel got off the boat, wearily looking at them.

Tagu nudged him with his nose, making him set foot on the sand. Hazel scowled and stared daggers at the person.

'I suppose I should introduce myself and my companions.' The masked woman nodded her head. 'I'm Hazel, this is Junagi,' she said, pointing to her egret.

'That's Gunderson and Meno, Ethel with Kun and he's Nego, summoner of Tagu,' she finished. The masked person took off her mask and locked eyes with Hazel.

She was actually, pretty. Her black hair was brown in the sunset, she had a fair complexion and tawny brown eyes, different from Hazel because her eyes were a darker brown.

'I'm Lyria,' she said. Her voice was bold and commanding. 'We let people who step foot on the island fight the leader to judge them worthy, and I'm the leader.'

An elderly woman came out from behind the people. 'Give them the traditional rules,' she coughed. Someone drew a circle in the ground with a stick.

Nego gulped. 'Uh, what happens if we lose?' Lyria smiled at him coldly. 'We do whatever we want with you.' Tagu rumbled, the hairs on his fluffy coat stood up.

'No armour allowed, there's only wooden weapons and I want to duel with you,' she pointed at Hazel. Nego felt like he was mentally punched in the gut.'

'What?' he nearly yelled. Lyria had her hand on a dagger in her belt. 'Any objections?' she pointedly asked him. 'No, nothing at all,' Nego said awkwardly.

Gunderson and Ethel frowned, but Nego hoped Lyria would be enough to convince them to keep quiet.

The elderly woman announced the rules, 'Spirit animals are allowed, melee combat only, beat your opponent into submission,' she coughed and was seated on a small chair.

Hazel gave Nego her belt full of knives and set aside her swords. Junagi stepped in the ring with her. Nego listed their advantages and disadvantages:

Hazel had Junagi.

Hazel was an insane fighter.

Their disadvantages:

Lyria probably had more experience.

They knew nothing about Lyria's fighting style.

Dressed in a white combat dress, Lyria probably had a few moves.

Lyria had a bird of prey, made to hunt and dive.

Lyria looked older then Hazel by two years at least, and Hazel was only thirteen.

Nego could've listed a few more, but then, the most intense fight broke out. Hazel used both of the wooden swords to her advantage, but Lyria countered with her spear.

Scarlett and Junagi flew in the air, shedding feathers and shrieking. The locals yelled happily. They fought intensely like there was no tomorrow.

Growling and yelling, they clashed their wooden weapons together. Scarlett suddenly dived out of her aerial combat with Junagi to dive at Hazel's face.

Momentarily blinded, Lyria swung her spear to deliver a stunning blow. Junagi however, flew in and accurately gripped the tip with his talons and started pulling.

Scarlett flew at Junagi, just before Junagi could yank the weapon away from Lyria's hand. Hazel lunged in a combination of Northern battle moves.

She fought in a burst of speed so aggressively and fought so intensely that she managed get her wooden sword at Lyria's neck.

Scarlett landed on her shoulder and looked at Hazel's sword cautiously. Junagi nearly fell on his beak due to his sudden landing.

Lyria's face broke into a happy smile. 'Hazel, you fight very well,' Hazel smiled too. 'Lyria, you looked different. I couldn't believe it was you.'

'Your sister of arms?' Nego choked out. Ethel and Gunderson looked like they were being punched in the gut. They had heard the sad tale after being bored of rowing.

The locals looked in disbelief as their leader chatted happily to Hazel. 'Well,' Lyria said. 'Let's welcome them!'

Tagu, Kun and Meno chewed on their food as the locals ate. Hazel's mood dropped as Lyria told her that her parents had died.

Nego felt Tagu give him a vision.

 _Rest my champion. You have earned it and now you are at crossroads. Choose and rest._

* * *

One month later . . .

Nego, Hazel and Lyria lay hidden up the banisters. Lyria sat cross-legged in her combat dress as Nego and Hazel let their legs hang off the wooden planks.

Hazel and Lyria's green cloaks trailed behind them. It was very fitting.

Greenhaven had upgraded the banisters and made them broader and a lot more wider. The tapestries hid their legs.

Ethel with Kun, Meno and Gunderson were probably training with their troops at Southern Erdas after being placed as the leaders.

It had taken a week of persuasion and three days to get here, but it felt worth it. 'When battle comes,' Nego had said. 'We will defend when they need us most.'

It would take time for him and Hazel to overcome their bonding sickness, but Lyria would be there with Scarlett.

Tagu and Junagi might have some more interesting powers to offer, including Scarlett. At the moment, Lyria had found her gift of light which was purple and dark blue.

His silver light mixed with purple and dark blue and Hazel's golden brown. Arrow, swords and spear.

At the moment, he sat with Hazel on his right and Lyria on his left. He had the leather book in his lap. Hazel ran her hand across the words.

'It says it sees two seers and one witch,' she stated. 'Well, I'm the witch,' Lyria said as Scarlett rested on her shoulder.

Tagu rested his head on his shoulder while Junagi observed the book next to Hazel. Iika was right. He knew he needed to rest for enough strength at a certain point.

Like the calm before a storm.

Nego was filled with happiness. Why not? He had two great friends and a spirit animal including two others to be with him.

He put his arms around Hazel and Lyria and looked at the sunset through the massive window that didn't have glass over it, which gave them a perfect view.

'Let's go to the dining pavilion. I think we can leave prophecies after we eat.'

 **I thank you all awesome people who have seen this. No matter what, I thank you for all your support. This might be my last story, I don't know.**

 **This ending is a bit too abrupt, but I need to prepare for my exams because this is deciding wheather I'll go on to secondary school or go for remove.**

 **I don't give up on my stories, like the last time I started out.**

 **Check out my last story by clicking my username and please review.**

 **Peace!**


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